Mini Me

Do you remember when you were little and you had that one cool older cousin? You know, the one that you wish were your older brother or sister. I had one, and I remember I always wanted to grow up to be that person for my younger cousins. Although I have amazing relationships with all my little cousins, I have the deepest connection with my cousin, Morgan.

Morgan is 12 years old and she is seriously a mini me. She has all the same interests I had at her age, she is into fashion and music, she is getting into makeup, etc. It's great that she is just like me but it also has it's downsides because I am a unique person with a unique life to say the least. She is a free spirit that will not be told what to do. This is a great quality to have when you're older but when you are 12 it causes a lot of friction with parents. Although she is 12 she has formed a lot of sophisticated views on issues like gay rights and religion. Many of these opinions differ from her parent's so her and her mom tend to get into it. She is also prevalent on the internet and because there is a generational gap between her and her parents they don't understand a lot of the new ways of socializing on the internet. So they often take her phone away and they even have an app to watch what she is doing on the phone.

I love hanging out with Morgan and building my relationship with her because I like to be that escape. I like to be that person that she trusts and can talk to about everything. The only problem is that she lives an hour away from me. I don't care. I drive out there at least twice a month and get her dinner and go shopping. It's so worth it to see her smile for real even if both of our lives aren't the best right now. I also love being a young woman that she can look up to because I didn't have the best role models growing up. I have dropped plans just to see her because I know that she needs me.

I remember last time we hung out I took her to the store, "Hot Topic" for the first time. Anyone who was a young teen in the 2000's or early 2010's went through that phase. She loves the singer, Melanie Martinez and when she saw all of the Melanie Martinez merchandise she was like a kid in a candy shop. Her eyes lit up as she tried to grab every pastel colored t-shirt she possibly could. I remember I was having family drama that day so I wasn't in the best mood but I still made the drive to her house and then 30 more minutes to "Hot Topic". It was so worth it to see her having fun like that and having girl time. After "Hot Topic" we went to get burgers and we had a long talk about how we would be as moms.

People ask me why I really drive an hour to go hang out with a 12 year old and I just say that I do it for fun. Which is true but she is always so happy during and after we hang out. For the next few hours after we hang out she is always texting me about how much fun she had or creative ideas that I inspired her to do. So I do it because although it puts a dent in my wallet, it's worth it to be able to inspire someone and make them happy. It's so worth it to be a little escape from daily life. Also since she is just like I was growing up, it's nice to be able to help out my younger self. When I was younger, I didn't talk to anyone about my struggles and now I have mental health issues. So if I can be that person to her then I'll be there any time.